Since 2008, an independent look at challenges and opportunities in sports and financial investing, with occasional diversions as my mood takes me. Nothing is for sale, and this not a Profit and Loss report either. They're boring.

Thursday, 18 September 2014

Some changes at the top after Wednesday's results, and nice to see Mortimer and Randolph side by side! Here are the in-profit entries to date:

Scott has pointed me to an article on a 'responsible gambler' who can afford to lose £900k on the Scottish Referendum. I'm also not sure a 'responsible' person would be walking around the streets of south-west London with hundreds of thousands of pounds in their trousers, and betting it at a high street bookmaker, but maybe I'm just being difficult. There are other ways to play this bet:

A political punter stands to gain just over £1million if Scotland votes No to independence after placing a £900,000 bet at his local bookmaker, William Hill.

The middle-aged businessman, who is not Scottish, has gambled the biggest amount of money ever staked on a political event on Scotland staying in the United Kingdom.

After already placing £600,000 on the outcome of the referendum the customer has now added a further £200,000 to his wager, and stands to collect £1,093,333.33 should the outcome of the poll be a No vote.

“He placed the first part of his bet, £400,000, in June 2014, then returned to the same betting shop on two different dates in August to stake a further £200,000 each time,” said William Hill's spokesman Graham Sharpe.

“Now, today - Tuesday - he has come back in and placed an additional £100,000 on the same outcome,” said. “This adds up to the biggest bet of the century on any subject with us - and almost certainly with any bookmaker,” Mr Sharp added.

The customer took odds of 1/ 4 for the first part of his bet; 1/6 for the second part; 1/5 for the third, and now 1/5 again - meaning his actual profit would be £193,333.33.

“This man is confident, if not entirely convinced, that his gamble will pay off - in fact, he has called it an ‘investment’ said Mr Sharpe. “He isn't yet sure how or where he will discover the outcome of the Referendum.”

Mr Sharpe added: "All three bets have been placed in the same branch of William Hill in south-west London.

He said the customer was a “responsible gambler” and gave every indication he could afford to lose the money if the result did not go his way.

“He sees losing the money more as an intellectual blow than a financial blow. But he is confident and says he has done his homework.”

About Me

I have had a life-long interest in sports and after studying Pure Mathematics with Statistics at secondary school, have been fascinated by odds and probability.
The first system I came up with was a simple one - back the favourite and double up after a loss until a winner. Simple enough in theory, and I told my Dad about it. Not being a betting man himself, he ran it by some of his colleagues, and came home to tell me that it wouldn’t work because a long losing run would mean that the bank would be empty. Then there was always the possibility that the winner would be returned at odds-on, meaning that the total returns would not match the outlay. Not what a ten year old wants to hear! Only slightly daunted, I then went on a search for the Holy Grail, the secret to riches that I knew was out there somewhere. Finally in 2004 I stumbled across an article about Betting Exchanges and four years on I am able to make a steady profit. I am at that age where I can start thinking about retirement and anything I make from trading sports will bring that day forward.